Battlefield 5 is only a couple years old, but lots of fans are ready for Battlefield 6 this year. What's more, EA and DICE seem ready to take another crack at the franchise. Battlefield 5 had been going strong with DLCs for a couple of years, but the developers say that the game wasn't as successful upfront as they hoped. DICE had done well supporting the game in the meantime, so there's a fan base ready to carry over into Battlefield 6. Details on the next game are supposedly coming up this spring, so fans have time to speculate on what DICE is going to take or leave from the last game.
That's especially hard to guess considering how much Battlefield 5 was expanded post-launch. There's tons of game modes and other content that DICE added, including a battle royale game mode. Battlefield 6's developer will surely consider every aspect of the last game, but it should drop Battlefield 5's Firestorm battle royale. That might seem counterintuitive, since battle royale games are still going strong right now, but it's not what Battlefield 6 needs to succeed. There's too many possibilities available to the game that would go to waste if DICE focused on making another battle royale mode.
The State of the Battle Royale Genre
Lots of shooter fans probably remember the battle royale explosion from a couple years ago. It started with PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds and expanded from there. There's lots of games known chiefly for battle royale action, like Fortnite and Apex Legends, but a lot of established franchises like Call of Duty added battle royale modes to capitalize on the craze. Battlefield was no exception, but Firestorm wasn't a huge hit. Fortnite was already out by then, and Apex Legends came out a short while later. Firestorm got some praise for creativity, yet failed to draw in players from its well-established competitors.
Battlefield 6 will face exactly the same kind of competition if it tries to do another battle royale. In fact, it could do much worse than Firestorm, considering Apex Legends and Call of Duty: Warzone have had more than a year to stake a claim in the genre. There's just not much point in Battlefield 6 trying to muscle in on that turf if it's not completely devoted to the genre. Split focus between game modes will make it harder to ensure a theoretical sequel to Firestorm is special enough to make a dent alongside the battle royale giants. Theoretically speaking, DICE has better things to focus on right now.
Next-Gen Warfare
The developer of Battlefield 6 has stated it wants to make the most of next-gen technology. That's probably best done by focusing on large-scale game modes like the teasers from EA Play hinted at. The latest consoles will really be put to the test with persistent deathmatches and king of the hill modes, with huge teams of players fighting on the biggest battlefields that the consoles can muster. In battle royale games, the map intentionally shrinks as player numbers are fundamentally limited. Assuming Battlefield 6 wants to emphasize itself as the next generation of Battlefield, a battle royale mode doesn't necessarily highlight next-gen consoles' rendering capabilities.
Perhaps most importantly, staying away from battle royale modes in Battlefield 6 will play to DICE's strengths. Firestorm's development was largely outsourced to another studio, so instead of spreading out development, it'd be better if Battlefield 6 was authentically DICE's own. DICE has years of experience in providing its players with immersive wartime simulations. Battle royale games are fundamentally different from the brand of gameplay that Battlefield has built a reputation on, so maybe it doesn't need to master this particular genre. There's lots of ways to make a good shooter without always implementing a battle royale offering.
Battlefield 6 is in development.